I'll stay forever
by coolBeanz101
Summary: The incinerator incident scarred Andy's toys, but they got over it, sort of. Now, months later, Woody is revisited by nightmares, keeping Buzz and Jessie awake with his screaming. How can they comfort him, and make him sleep with no fear? And is there a reason be is being visited months later by the daunting nightmares once more?
1. Nighmares and Comforting

_They felt the heat against their skin, the sweat pouring down their faces, and felt each other's panic in the warm air. The toy's lives flashed before their eyes, all the memories of Andy, of playtime, of each other..._

_Woody felt a hand take hold of his own, and he looked up. Buzz was looking at him. He was smiling sadly. Woody knew that look, but had never seen it on the Space ranger's face. It was a look that said, "We tried. Just give up...". Woody looked around him. Everyone had a look of fear on their face, absolutely everyone. Mr and Mrs potato head were hugging each other close, Rex was struggling to hold on with his tiny arms and Jessie was leaning into Buzz, a pleading look on her face. He gave a tiny shake of his head, as if to say "There's nothing we can do...". They all closed their eyes, bracing themselves for the painful end. Suddenly, woody heard a sniggering noise. He looked up, stunned. Who would laugh at a time like this?! All of the toys, save woody were smirking. They pulled out magnets from nowhere, laughing at Woody's expression._

_"We were never on your side, cowboy. We faked, to lead you do your doom!" Ham sneered. Jessie laughed._

_"Gosh, I'm so glad that's over! Pretending to like you was annoying as heck!" She said. Buzz nodded. They all raised their magnets,and a huge magnet appeared above them. They rose upwards,and Woody panicked._

_"Guys! Come back! Come on, help! We're friends!" He begged loudly. Mr potato head rolled his eyes._

_"Did you not hear our whole speech thing? We hate you! We can't stand you! Now, were gonna leave, it's a bit too hot, and we don't want me turning into French fries!" All the others laughed, and woody felt his heart break as they disappeared. His boot got a lot hotter, and he yelled. He looked down. His foot was in the fire._

_"No!" He screamed. His other foot was soon dunked in the flames, and he hissed in pain. It rose to his waist, and he screamed for help once more. He was submerged up to his shoulders, and tears were pouring down his face_.

"_No! No! NOOO_!"

"No...No...No!"

"Woody...Woody?"

"No...We...No!"

"Sheriff? Woody, Come on. Wake up."

"No...stop...No!"

Woody shot up, sweat pouring down his face. Buzz stood, worried, beside him.

"A nightmare?" Buzz's tone was gentle, and he put a comforting arm around the toy he'd come to think of as a brother. Woody nodded, terror clear on his face. Buzz sighed.

"Woody, that's the fourth this week. What in the world are you dreaming about?"

Woody sighed weakly.

"I don't want to talk about it" he muttered.

"Guys?" A tired voice asked quietly. The two toys turned, seeing Jessie sitting up in bed, looking at them tiredly. She had been woke up four times this week, but it was worse for Buzz. He'd stayed awake all night to watch over his cowboy "brother". She stood up, walking over to the two boys. She sat beside Buzz, looking at Woody. She'd co.e to think of Woody and Buzz as brothers, and they thought of her as a sister. She looked pleadingly at Woody.

"Please, Woody. Tell us what your dreaming about! Maybe we can help!" She begged. Anything to keep her "brother" safe (and to get some rest around here). Woody avoided eye contact as he muttered "you can't help."

"How do you know, thought? Woody, we'll always be here. Trust us, and tell us. I know, it might be hard, but even so-"

"The incinerator..." the words bad been spoken so quietly the other two had barely heard, but they did, and when they did, understanding washed over their features.

"Of course..."

The incident at the dump had scarred them for life, even though they had been saved. Not just those three, all of Andy's toys that had been at the dump with them. All of them, every single one of them, had a major phobia of fire now. Whenever Bonnie was up in winter, playing by the fire, they would stiffen even more than usual. Whenever the child turned away, the toys shuffled away from the fire a bit, bad memories haunting them. When they got back, all the toys were unnaturally cautious and jumpy. At night, for the first few nights, they were awake most of the night, waking one another up by screaming or yelling in their sleep. They stopped after a few nights, and they returned to normal for a few months, living happily with Bonnie. Then, Woody started getting nightmares again, worse than ever before. Before, it had been them reliving the event exactly the same as before. But not now.

Jessie hugged Woody in a comforting way. He relaxed after a while, his shuddering still there, but only a bit.

"What happens...in your dream?" Buzz asked. He hated the thought of making Woody say it all out loud. If it scared the cowboy, it must have been freaky.

"I...Buzz, you had took my hand, and we had all started to give up. W-We'd closed our eyes, W-We'd then I heard a...heard a...a laughing...I opened my eyes, ant you were all grinning. Y-you were holding magnets..." he faltered. Then he swallowed, and continued. He said the rest over the space of fifteen minutes, freezing for long periods of time, before resuming. Buzz and Jessie were horrified. They looked at each other nervously. They knew the dump nightmares were bad, having obviously experienced them themselves. But...Woody's version was a lot worse. They could barely imagine...the feeling of betrayal...The burning feeling...the pleads of help...Never would they haves guessed that it could be this bad. He must be so scared. Buzz gave his hand a squeeze. In all honesty, he was still freaked by the incident,but for the sake of Woody,he had to be strong.

"Woody...I know the incinerator was a horrible experience. We're all still scared, even though we pretend we aren't. But...we need to put it behind us. It's just a bad memory, Woody, it can't hurt us. Yes, we will always have it in the back of our beads, but if we try, we can get rid of it. We hate seeing you like this. Please...put it behind you, like we are." He stopped, and looked at Woody. The cowboy was looking down.

"Buzz...I've tried. But no matter what, it's always there, mocking me. Thanks for trying...and its true, I feel a bit better after telling you all. But, it won't ever be gone. I can't make it go."

Jessie piped up. "And we're not trying to make you! We swear, there's nothing to be afraid of. We'll be right her with you, the whole time. Right, Buzz?" She asked, turning to the space ranger. He nodded.

"We'll stay here. Just rest, Woody. Lie down, and go to sleep." Woody obeyed, lying down, and closing his eyes reluctantly. But after a squeeze in both hands, he fell into a peaceful sleep, hugging each other together, like a family should.


	2. Dreamland

Blackness.

Blackness can be comforting. Yes, it can be scary, or a bad sign or omen. But it can also comfort you. Sleek, peaceful and quiet. Instead of nightmares, Woody saw blackness. Not the scary, or sign. The comforting. The blackness was turning lighter, a darker gray, to a murky shade...Woody tensed, expecting nightmares to overcome him, to make him yell, scream and thrash enough to wake his companions. But as images formed, it wasn't the usual incinerator.

It was a meadow, a meadow with short grass and beautiful spring flowers standing tall. The view moved forward, to the end of a cliff. Outside the dream, Woody gave a small gasp.

Paradise. It was the only way to describe this vision of beauty, waiting at the bottom of the cliff. Fresh grass bloomed, pure green and tall. Beautiful flowers sprung from the soil, their scent overtaking the air. There was so many! Daffodils, roses, sunflowers, violets, petunias, and so many more! There was trees, standing tall as skyscrapers. They looked like trees you see in movies, twisted and crooked in a way that makes them seem magical. Lakes and rivers are scattered around the clearing, Crystal clear with water lillies floating peacefully in place.

However, by far the most impressive sight was the waterfall, pounding into the largest lake, spraying water, which the bright Sun reflected against, creating a beautiful rainbow effect.

At the view zoomed in on this paradise, figured became clear. All the toys, Andy's only, for some reason, were scattered around the clearing. Hamm and Mr potato head were sunbathing, there eyes closed, smirks on their faces. Slinky dog and Rex were chasing each other around the trees, barking or roaring playfully. Bullseye was in the water, splashing with the toy aliens, under close supervision or Mrs potato head. The big three, as some of the toys had jokingly labelled Woody, Buzz and Jessie, were lying on the ground, watching the clouds, pointing out shapes they saw.

"Look!" Jessie said, pointing. "I see a cowgirl hat!" Woody and Buzz followed her gaze, seeing this hat shaped cloud themselves. "Uh, Jess? It's cowboy hat, actually..." Woody corrected lazily.

"Oh, shut up, Woody! I can call it what I want! If I want to call it cowgirl, I'll call it-" "Spaceship!" Buzz interrupted. Jessie rolled her eyes. "You see spaceships _everywhere_, Buzz! You're obsessed!"

"I am not! But anyway, look! Right above us!" Jessie and Woody looked up.

"I don't see it..." Jessie muttered. "No, I do! It's there, see Jess?" "Ohhh...I see it _NOW!_"

They were Interrupted by a loud crack. They sat up abruptly, the other toys stopping, and looking around wildly for the source of the noise. They found it in the middle of the clearing. A box was there, a large one. The flaps flipped open, and a nine year old girl with sparkling brown eyes popped out. "Hiya!" She said cheerfully. The toys looked confused as they approached the child cautiously. "Who are you?" Jessie asked, slightly suspicious. The girl giggled.

"Oh, toys! You're so silly! It's me! Bonnie!" The toys gasped, and looked the girl up and down. She was wearing the same clothes as normal, but bigger. Her eyes stayed the same colour, and no one called them "toys" quite like Bonnie...except one person, who has been out there lives for almost a year. It was true...it was Bonnie more grown up.

"But I'm not alone!" She sang. She turned to the box. "Ohhh buuuuuddyyyyy!" She called. Another head popped up, stunning the toys into silence.

"Andy...?" Woody asked hesitantly. The boy grinned a toothy grin, nodding.

"Hi guys! Did you miss me?" Andy asked. The toys crowded him, all talking at once. Yes, it was their Andy, but back at nine years old. They sat for a long time, chatting, all wanting an excuse to spend time with their old owner, the boy they'd loved for the majority of their lives, the boy who had been so reluctant to let them go...Woody was delighted, both his owners in the same place, the same age, best friends with each other and the toys. But they were Interrupted by a flash, causing them to look up at the sky, confused. Another flash, and Woody jerked awake, leaving his paradise dreamland behind...

He sat upright, the other two doing the same on either side of him. Woody looked at the other two, his confusion reflected on their faces. They looked forward, seeing the cause of the flash immediately. Mr potato head, Hamm, and Slinky stood there, a camera between them, pictures on the floor and grins of the three males faces.

"We'll, this is one for the memory books!" Hamm snorted. He held up the picture of the big three, hugging each other close, sleeping blissfully.

"What are you doing?!" Woody hissed quietly, blushing. "Bonnie is right outside the cupboard!"

"Ha! Bonnie's on summer vacation, and you know it!" Mr potato head smirked triumphantly.

"Well, in that case...GIVE US THOSE PICTURES!" Woody yelled. The three males turned, and ran,Woody dashing after them. They ran around for about ten minutes, until Woody leaned against the toy chest, panting and wheezing. He walked moodily back to the cupboard, where Buzz and Jessie stood, snickering. They stopped when woody walked in.

"No nightmares?" Buzz asked. Woody grinned.

"No nightmares." He reported.

"Are you smiling about that, or..." Jessie faded away,looking at her "brother".

"No, no. I'm just thinking about the dream I had...It was really good until they woke me up..." he grumbled. Buzz Sat down.

"Really? Tell us about it." He asked. Woody hesitated, then nodded. They all settled down, and Woody began. The other two were fascinated, and when it came to the part about Andy, they gasped in delight.

"-And then we were all talking, but we saw a flash, then another! So I woke up..." Woody finished. The other two looked amazed.

"That's a _lot_ better than the other dream!" Jessie said excitedly.

"Yeah...A _lot_ better..." Woody agreed, but his mind had went elsewhere.

Why in the world was he being visited by the nightmares again? He was as good as the others with the dump incident, until the nightmares. Why the heck was he stuck with them? And why are they so different?

"Hey, Woody! Come on, we're watching your show!" A voice called from outside the perked up, running out. Woody sighed, and followed her, letting his questions fade to the back of his mind, for now.


	3. Getting worse

After watching episode after episode of Woody's round-up, ending with the goofy made up final episode the toys had made months ago (where a rock falls on stinky Pete, off screen, woody saves Jessie, and everything is OK!), the toys decided to turn in, far too quick for Woody's taste. He swallowed, comfort to his dry throat.

"Hey bullseye. Wanna play a game?" He asked the Brown toy horse. Bullseye nodded, always one to do whatever the cowboy toy wanted, even if it hurt his or the other toys feelings. In fact, bullseye obeyed most of the other toys. Mr potato head and Hamm, because they scared him a bit, Mrs potato head because he never refused a lady, and red because the dino always came to him with such a sad expression, (slinky dog never asks for anything). But he held a special place in his heart for his "mistress" and her two best friends.

Woody sighed with relief. "Thanks, bullseye!"

Bullseye tilted his head, giving a small neigh of confusion. Woody shook his head.

"It's nothing bullseye. C'mon, let's go on the computer, huh? We can play lots of games!" The horse gave a cheerful neigh, and the two headed of.

They played on the computer until around one in the morning, when woody noticed the horse pressing the spacebar to jump, was pressing the button over and over again, which caused them to lose the game.

"Bullseye!" Woody moaned. He turned to the toy horse, only to see him sound asleep, his head on the spacebar. Woody gave a sigh. No more delaying it now...time to go to sleep.

He dragged bullseye of to his usual sleeping place, before turning to face the cupboard. He walked in nervously, hoping Buzz and Jessie would be awake. Of course, they weren't.

"Just my luck..." Woody grumbled. Buzz was in his bed, snoring and glowing in the dark, as usual. Jessie was in her bed, smiling at what ever dream she was having. Woody felt jealous. Why could those two dream so happily, when he was plagued by nightmares? He wasn't even that scared of the incinerator, until he started those nightmares. Why him? Why anyone? He sighed, going over to his bed, and lying down. His heart was beating. _Hey_, he thought, _if I had that amazing dream last night, I can have it again tonight_.

With that thought, he closed his eyes, praying for a good dream, not a nightmare. And when he saw the top of the paradise, the meadow, he thought his wish had came true. Until, the view went to the edge of the cliff, again. He moaned outside the dream, wincing. The toys were sliding down a hill, toward the intense flame of the incinerator. They were sliding, trying to grip onto anything to stop them falling into the pile of rubbish being burned. The big three were gripping a rock, their knuckles white from clutching it too tight. To their horror, the rock came out of the earth, and fell into the pile of rubbish. All the toys were there, fear in their eyes, worse than the first time.

"Woody!" They all cried, "Help! Do something!" They were nearing the flame, and they were desperate. They tried to climb up, looking at the cowboy for advice. Woody felt pressured. What did they expect him to do? He was just a toy, like everyone here. He heard petrified screams, and looked up in horror. "My babies!" Mrs potato head screamed, watching in terror, as her children are submerged in fire, crying for their mother. Their last yell of "mommy" hung in the air. Then the toys looked at Mrs potato head, who was struggling in Mr potato head's grasp.

"No! _NO_! I have to help my babies! They need me! I'm their mommy!" She cried hysterically. Mr potato head forced her to look at him.

"It's not worth it! I can't lose you! Don't! They're gone! Done! Burnt...Burnt plastic..." he faded of, wishing with all his might for his boys to jump out the flame, to come over to him, to be together, like family should be! But, as they were two metres away from the fire, he knew it was pointless. He turned to his wife. "I love you." He said in a hushed tone. His wife was sobbing, but she looked up in time to whisper back "I love you too..." before they closed their eyes, and were engulfed by the flame. The married couple screamed and yelled, burning to death was certainly not peaceful. Their last thought was 'I'll see my boys again...'

The toys watched, tears in their eyes, watching as the stubborn potato head gave up hope, accepting the fact he was going to die. They heard the screams as the couple was submerged in fire, and they too gave up. Jessie looked up at Woody, and woody looked at Jessie. He searched the cowgirl eyes, but found no fear. Just anger.

"This is all your fault." She growled angrily. His jaw dropped. His fault?! How?! Jessie continued glaring. "It was your idea to come to this place! It's beautiful, you said. No harm at all, you said! and now look." She turned to the fire. Watching, she sighed.

"There goes Hamm...and slinky. There's goes rex, into extinction...and bullseye...we all trusted you. And you went and killed us. It's me you and Buzz, cowboy. Thanks a lot..." Woody looked at Buzz, horrified.

"B-Buzz? Do you think this t-too?" He asked helplessly. He didn't need to answer. His eyes gave woody the terrible answer. Yes. He blamed his supposed best friend. The one he swore he would follow. To infinity and beyond...but not anymore. Jessie and Buzz were merely two and a half metres away. Woody watched as his two best friends joined hands, and spent their last moments glaring at him. "Your fault. Your fault. Your fault..." They were pulled into the fire, and their haunting chant was stopped abruptly. Woody was still a good seven or eight meters away, when he saw it. Several multicoloulored streaks zoomed into the air, stopping above the fire. Woody gave a strangled cry. The streaks changed, taking the form of his friends. They began their haunting chant again.

"Your fault...Your fault...Your fault...Your fault..." And as woody was only a few centimetres away, Jessie called out "Goodbye, woodEE!" It was said in the same tone of voice as when woody and Jessie first met, his name. He was dunked into the flames, yelling out, and the last thing he heard was the chilling laughter of his old friends...

Buzz was sleeping, quite peacefully if he may add, and had not a care in the world...Until he was jerked awake by petrified yelling and screaming. He looked to his side, and saw Jessie on the other side of the room, sitting up, looking at Buzz. They both looked to Woody's bed, and saw one thrashing, sweating, yelling and screaming cowboy.

They looked to each other, concerned. Woody had never been this bad before. He moaned, and moved a little, but never before had this happened...They stood up, and approached Woody slowly. Buzz reached his friend first, shaking his shoulder gently. Jessie arrived a few seconds later, shaking his other shoulder and saying his name quietly. Woody was terrified, they could tell, but it never took much to wake him up.

Sure enough, with one last firm shake, woody shot up, his his head colliding with the other two. They all moaned, rubbing their heads. Woody looked around fearfully, and when his eyes found the two other toys, he gasped, moving back. Buzz and Jessie looked confused and hurt. What did they do?

"I-i'm sorry! It wasn't my fault! I didn't do it! Please...No more chanting!"

"Woody? What are you talking about?" Jessie asked. Woody shivered.

"You blamed me! H-how was I supposed to know that we would all die? We're in heaven right now, right? So that proves it! If it was my fault, I would be in hell instead!" He protested.

"Woody...we're in bonnie's bedroom. It was a nightmare, not real life. Why would we blame you for anything? Your our best friend!" Jessie protested.

"Jessie's right. We wouldn't blame you for anything, sheriff. I don't know what you dreamt about, and I'm not going to force you to tell us, but it must've been bad, huh?" Buzz inquired. Woody shivered, still looking doubtful.

Jessie sighed, sitting beside woody, Buzz doing the same.

"Do you need us to stay?" Buzz asked. It didn't bother him, he'd take a bullet for the cowboy if he needed to. Woody shrugged.

"I guess...if you don't mind, I mean..."

"We don't mind, woody. Your my brother! We'll stay forever!"

Woody looked more reassured, as he lay down again. Buzz squeezed his hand, and he closed his eyes. And was visited by no nightmares that night. Buzz and Jessie stayed awake, though, waiting for the cowboy to fall asleep. When they heard the quiet snores of the cowboy, Buzz looked at Jessie.

"This is getting out of hand" Jessie said in a hushed voice. Buzz nodded.

"Agreed. But there's nothing we can do except be here when our friend needs us."

"But I feel so bad! He's just sitting here, suffering! And when he's hurt, I'm hurt!"

"Me too. Just go to sleep again, and we'll think of a plan to help him after a good night's sleep."

Jessie looked doubtful, but she lay down, closing her eyes.

_Oh woody_, she thought, _don't worry, we'll help you.._.


End file.
